Connecting hanger bolt and connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism

ABSTRACT

A connecting hanger bolt according to an aspect of the present invention is a hanger bolt which is inserted into a hanging groove rail having an opening narrower than the outer diameter of a bolt head and extending in a hanging groove rail longitudinal direction and from which a device is hangable. The connecting hanger bolt includes: a plurality of bolts which move in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction in the hanging groove rail and whose shaft portions pass through the opening; and a connecting member which connects the plurality of bolts to each other, and keeps an interval in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction between the plurality of bolts adjacent to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION (1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a connecting hanger bolt and aconnecting hanger bolt installation mechanism.

(2) Description of Related Art

A hanger bolt may be used when a device is installed on a ceiling orunder the floor of a railcar (see JP 05-35535 Y). A device is hangablefrom the hanger bolt. In addition, the hanger bolt can move to anarbitrary location along a hanging groove rail provided on the ceilingor under the floor. Therefore, by using the hanger bolt, it is possibleto easily install a device to an arbitrary location.

A plurality of hanger bolts are used for one device in a case ofinstalling the device by using the hanger bolts. As a matter of course,it is necessary to perform positioning of the hanger bolt as many timesas the number of hanger bolts to be used. Further, the hanger bolt isnot fixed to the hanging groove rail so that the hanger bolt is movablealong the hanging groove rail. Therefore, the hanger bolt has astructure such that the hanger bolt easily corotates with a nut when aworker tries to couple the nut to the hanger bolt.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,and an object of the present invention is to provide a hanger bolt whichcan reduce the burden of positioning work and hardly corotates with anut upon nut coupling.

A connecting hanger bolt according to an aspect of the present inventionis a hanger bolt which is inserted into a hanging groove rail having anopening narrower than an outer diameter of a bolt head and extending ina hanging groove rail longitudinal direction and from which a device ishangable. The connecting hanger bolt includes: a plurality of boltswhich move in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction in thehanging groove rail and whose shaft portions pass through the opening;and a connecting member which connects the plurality of bolts to eachother, and keeps an interval in the hanging groove rail longitudinaldirection between the plurality of bolts adjacent to each other.

According to this configuration, the interval in the hanging groove raillongitudinal direction between the bolts is kept by the connectingmember. Therefore, when one bolt is positioned, the other bolt ispositioned simultaneously. Therefore, the burden of positioning work isreduced. In addition, since the bolts are connected to each other, thebolt hardly corotates with a nut upon nut coupling.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a hangerbolt which can reduce the burden of positioning work and which hardlycorotates with the nut upon nut coupling.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of an underfloor duct;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the underfloor duct;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the underfloor duct;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the underfloor duct illustrating a state inwhich a lid is removed;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view viewed along arrow V-V in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the underfloor duct corresponding to FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the lid;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a fixing plate; and

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a connecting hanger boltinstallation mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, identical referencenumerals are given to identical or corresponding elements throughout thedrawings, and overlapping explanation will be omitted.

<Underfloor Duct>

First, the entire structure of an underfloor duct 100 will be described.The underfloor duct 100 is provided under the floor of a railcar 101,and stores therein electric equipment including a cable. The underfloorduct 100 extends along the longitudinal direction of the railcar 101.Note that hereinafter, a description will be given in which thelongitudinal direction of the railcar 101 is referred to as a “carlongitudinal direction”, and the width direction of the railcar 101 isreferred to as a “car width direction”.

FIG. 1 is a side view of the underfloor duct 100, as viewed from the carwidth direction. The rightward and leftward direction of the papersurface of FIG. 1 is the car longitudinal direction, and the directionvertical to the paper surface is the car width direction. In addition,FIG. 2 is a plan view of the underfloor duct 100, FIG. 3 is a bottomview of the underfloor duct 100, and FIG. 4 is a bottom view of theunderfloor duct 100 illustrating a state in which a lid 20 to bedescribed later is removed. The rightward and leftward direction of thepaper surface of FIGS. 2 to 4 is the car longitudinal direction, and theupward and downward direction of the paper surface of FIGS. 2 to 4 isthe car width direction. Further, FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional viewviewed along arrow V-V in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is an exploded view of theunderfloor duct 100 corresponding to FIG. 5.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the underfloor duct 100 includes a box 10, thelid 20, a seal member 30, and a fixture 40. Further, as illustrated inFIG. 3, the underfloor duct 100 includes a connecting hanger boltinstallation mechanism 50. Hereinafter, each of these constituentelements will be explained in order.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the box 10 has a frame 11 which projectsupward, and an opening 12 which opens downward. The frame 11 is formedof a plate member. The frame 11 has: an inverted U-shaped frame mainbody 13 which opens downward in a cross section vertical to the carlongitudinal direction; horizontal portions 14 which extend horizontallyoutward in the car width direction from both end portions (from a ductpassage 21 to be described later) in the car width direction of theframe main body 13; and extension portions 15 which extend downward fromboth end portions of the horizontal portions 14 in the car widthdirection.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, a plurality of first rivet holes 16 are formedin the horizontal portion 14 over the entire length in the carlongitudinal direction, and a fastening hole 17 is formed at a fixeddistance from each of the first rivet holes 16. Note that a combinationin which the positional relationship between the first rivet hole 16 andthe fastening hole 17 in the car longitudinal direction is opposite ispossible. However, even in that case, the distance between the firstrivet hole 16 and the fastening hole 17 does not change. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 1, the box 10 is installed under the floor of therailcar 101 by L-shaped installation members 18 as viewed from the carlongitudinal direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the lid 20 is a member that closes the opening12 of the box 10 and forms the duct passage 21 between the lid 20 andthe box 10. In the duct passage 21, electric equipment including a cableis stored. Note that a partition plate, not illustrated, may be providedin the duct passage 21 to divide the inside into a plurality of areas.As illustrated in FIG. 3, the lid 20 has a substantially square shapewhen viewed from the bottom, and a plurality of the lids 20 are providedover the entire length in the car longitudinal direction of the box 10.The lid 20 is formed of a plate member. As illustrated in FIG. 6, thelid 20 has a flat plate-shaped lid main body 22 extending horizontally,and folded portions 23 extending downward from both end portions in thecar width direction and both end portions in the car longitudinaldirection of the lid main body 22 (that is, from four sides of the lidmain body 22).

Further, the end portion of the box 10 is located outside the endportion of the lid 20 in the car width direction. More specifically, theextension portion 15 of the box 10 is located outside the folded portion23 of the lid 20 in the car width direction, and the inner surface ofthe extension portion 15 is in contact with the outer surface of thefolded portion 23. In addition, the lid main body 22 has a lidinstallation portion 24 extending horizontally outward from the ductpassage 21 in the car width direction. Here, FIG. 7 is a plan view ofthe lid 20 (in a state where the seal member 30 is installed). Asillustrated in FIG. 7, in the lid installation portion 24, a bolt hole25 is formed at a location corresponding to the fastening hole 17 (seeFIG. 4) of the box 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the seal member 30 is provided on an outerperipheral section of the upper surface of the lid main body 22including a section corresponding to the lid installation portion 24 ofthe lid 20. In addition to the lid main body 22, seal members 30 areprovided also on the connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50(backing plate 54) as illustrated in FIG. 4 (see also FIG. 9). Asillustrated in FIG. 5, in a state where the lid 20 is installed, theseal member 30 is inserted between the horizontal portion 14 of the box10 and the lid installation portion 24 of the lid 20, and the sealmember 30 is inserted between the lid main body 22 of the lid 20 and theconnecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50 (backing plate 54).Note that as illustrated in FIG. 7, a communication hole 31 is formed ata section corresponding to the bolt hole 25 of the seal member 30provided on the lid 20. In addition, the seal member 30 of the presentembodiment is formed of foam rubber.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the fixture 40 has a fixing plate 41 and afixing bolt 42, and fastens the horizontal portion 14 of the box 10 andthe lid installation portion 24 of the lid 20. The fixing plate 41 is insurface contact with the upper surface of the horizontal portion 14 ofthe box 10 and is positioned in the upward and downward direction withrespect to the box 10. Here, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the fixingplate 41. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the fixing plate 41 has aplate-shaped plate portion 43 and a projecting portion 47 press-fittedinto the plate portion 43 and having a bolt fixing portion 44 in whichfemale threads are formed. Note that the axial center of the bolt fixingportion 44 is vertical to the plate portion 43. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 6, the bolt fixing portion 44 constitutes theprojecting portion 47 which projects to a lower side with respect to thelower surface of the horizontal portion 14 in a state of passing throughthe fastening hole 17 (see FIG. 4) formed in the horizontal portion 14of the box 10.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 8, a second rivet hole 45 is formed inthe plate portion 43. The second rivet hole 45 is formed at a locationcorresponding to the first rivet hole 16 (see FIG. 4) of the box 10. Inaddition, the second rivet hole 45 has an axial center parallel to theaxial center of the bolt fixing portion 44. The fixing plate 41 is fixedto the box 10 by a rivet 46 (the rivet 46 is omitted in FIGS. 1 to 4)passing through both the first rivet hole 16 and the second rivet hole45. By passing the rivet 46 through the first rivet hole 16 and thesecond rivet hole 45 as described above, the fixing plate 41 can bepositioned in the horizontal direction with respect to the box 10.

As described above, the fixing plate 41 is installed to the box 10 in astate of being positioned in the upward and downward direction and thehorizontal direction with respect to the box 10. Then, the fixing bolt42 passes through the bolt hole 25 of the lid 20 and the communicationhole 31 of the seal member 30 from below and is coupled to the boltfixing portion 44 of the fixing plate 41.

The connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50 is a mechanism forinstalling a device. In the present embodiment, a low-voltage controlpower line passes through the duct passage 21 of the underfloor duct100. In contrast, as illustrated in FIG. 1, high-voltage power lines 61extending in the car longitudinal direction are installed to theconnecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50 with cleats 51. Notethat the control power line and the high-voltage power lines 61 areisolated from each other in this manner in order to prevent an electricsignal transmitted through the control power line from being affected byelectromagnetic interference from the high-voltage power lines 61.Therefore, the frame 11 and the lid 20 are preferably nonmagneticmembers, for example, stainless steel plates so that the effect ofpreventing electromagnetic interference can be enhanced. In addition, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism50 is installed in the opening 12 of the box 10, and is positionedbetween the adjacent lids 20. Details of the connecting hanger boltinstallation mechanism 50 will be described later.

<Effects and the Like Regarding Underfloor Duct>

As described above, the underfloor duct 100 according to the presentembodiment is a duct that is provided under the floor of the railcar 101and stores electric equipment including a cable. The underfloor duct 100includes: the box 10 which has the frame 11 projecting upward, and theopening 12 opening downward; and the lid 20 which closes the opening 12and forms the duct passage 21 between the lid 20 and the box 10.Further, the end portion of the box 10 is located outside the endportion of the lid 20 in the car width direction.

Since the underfloor duct 100 according to the present embodiment isconfigured as described above, removing the lid 20 that closes theopening 12 of the box 10 enables access to electric equipment with ease.Therefore, inspection of electric equipment can be easily performed. Inaddition, since the end portion of the box 10 is located outside the endportion of the lid 20, even in a case where water falls on theunderfloor duct 100 from above, the water flows down without passingthrough the lid 20. Therefore, water hardly intrudes into the ductpassage 21 even though the underfloor duct 100 has a simple structure.

In addition, in the underfloor duct 100 according to the presentembodiment, the box 10 has the horizontal portion 14 extendinghorizontally outward in the car width direction from the duct passage21, and the lid 20 has the lid installation portion 24 extendinghorizontally outward in the car width direction from the duct passage21. The horizontal portion 14 and the lid installation portion 24 arefastened by the fixture 40.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the horizontal portion 14and the lid installation portion 24 are fastened by the fixture 40 onthe outside in the car width direction with respect to the duct passage21, and the fixing bolt 42 does not project into the duct passage 21.Therefore, it is possible to fix the lid 20 to the box 10 withoutdamaging the cable in the duct passage 21.

In addition, the underfloor duct 100 according to the present embodimentincludes: the seal member 30 which is inserted between the horizontalportion 14 and the lid installation portion 24; and the fixing plate 41which is in surface contact with the upper surface of the horizontalportion 14 and is positioned in the upward and downward direction withrespect to the box 10. Further, the fixing plate 41 has the projectingportion 47 projecting to the lower side with respect to the lowersurface of the horizontal portion 14 in a state of passing through thefastening hole 17 formed in the horizontal portion 14.

As described above, since the projecting portion 47 projects to thelower side with respect to the lower surface of the horizontal portion14, when the lid 20 is fastened to the box 10 by using the fixing bolt42, an appropriate gap is kept between the box 10 and the horizontalportion 14 by the projecting portion 47. As a result, uneven compressionof the seal member 30 due to fastening of the fixing bolt 42 isprevented, and reaction force from the seal member 30 to the lidinstallation portion 24 also has a fixed value. As a result, deformationof the lid installation portion 24 due to a partial increase in thereaction force caused when the lid 20 is installed to the box 10 can beprevented and permanent deformation of the seal member 30 insertedbetween the horizontal portion 14 and the lid installation portion 24due to excessive compression of the seal member 30 can be prevented.Thus, the seal member 30 can be reused.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the fixing plate 41 further hasthe bolt fixing portion 44 in which the female threads are formed insidethe projecting portion 47.

As described above, since the projecting portion 47 has both thefunction of female threads (the bolt fixing portion 44) and a solid stopfunction, it is not necessary to provide a member having a solid stopfunction separately from the bolt fixing portion 44. Therefore, thestructure of the underfloor duct 100 can be simplified.

In addition, in the underfloor duct 100 according to the presentembodiment, the first rivet hole 16 is formed in the horizontal portion14 of the box 10, and the second rivet hole 45 is formed at a locationcorresponding to the first rivet hole 16 in the fixing plate 41. Thesecond rivet hole 45 has the axial center parallel to the axial centerof the bolt fixing portion 44 and is positioned in the horizontaldirection with respect to the box 10. The underfloor duct 100 has therivet 46 passing through both the first rivet hole 16 and the secondrivet hole 45.

Since the underfloor duct 100 according to the present embodiment isconfigured as described above, only by fixing the fixing plate 41 to thehorizontal portion 14 of the box 10 by using the rivet 46, the fixingplate 41 can be accurately positioned in the upward and downwarddirection and the horizontal direction. Further, since the fixing plate41 is fixed to the box 10 by using the rivet 46 instead of welding, evenin a case where the bolt fixing portion 44 is damaged, the fixing plate41 can be easily replaced.

<Connecting Hanger Bolt Installation Mechanism>

Next, details of the connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50will be described. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of theconnecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50 as viewed diagonallyfrom below. Note that the upper-left to lower-right direction of thepaper surface of FIG. 9 is the car width direction, and the upper-rightto lower-left direction of the paper surface of FIG. 9 is the carlongitudinal direction. As illustrated in FIG. 9, the connecting hangerbolt installation mechanism 50 includes a connecting hanger bolt 52, ahanging groove rail 53, and the backing plate 54. In addition,hereinafter, a description will be given in which the longitudinaldirection of the hanging groove rail 53 is referred to as a “hanginggroove rail longitudinal direction”, and the width direction of thehanging groove rail 53 is referred to as a “hanging groove rail widthdirection”.

The connecting hanger bolt 52 has a plurality of (two in the presentembodiment) bolts 55 and a connecting member 56 connecting these bolts55 to each other. The bolt 55 has a shaft portion 57 extending in theupward and downward direction and formed with male threads, and a bolthead 58 which is positioned on the upper side of the shaft portion 57and to which the shaft portion 57 is fixed. The bolt head 58 has arectangular plate-shaped main body portion 59 and vertical wall portions60 extending upward from both end portions of the main body portion 59in the hanging groove rail width direction. The bolt head 58 has a Ushape as viewed from the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction.

The connecting member 56 is a member that extends in the hanging grooverail longitudinal direction and connects the adjacent bolts 55 to eachother. Entirety of the connecting hanger bolt 52 including theconnecting member 56 is made of metal. The connecting member 56 hasrigidity of a fixed level or higher which enables the interval betweenthe adjacent bolts 55 in the hanging groove rail longitudinal directionto be kept without expanding and contracting. In addition, theconnecting member 56 is formed in a plate spring shape having lowrigidity, and a worker can bend and deform the connecting member 56 byapplying force. Note that the connecting member 56 is not limited to thepresent embodiment as long as the connecting member 56 is configured tohave rigidity allowing deformation while maintaining the intervalbetween the bolts by cutting out a portion of the connecting member 56,reducing the plate thickness thereof, using material having lowrigidity, or the like.

The hanging groove rail 53 is a member into which the connecting hangerbolt 52 is inserted. The hanging groove rail 53 has a substantiallyrectangular frame shape as viewed from the hanging groove raillongitudinal direction and includes a top plate portion 70 positioned atthe upper portion, side plate portions 71 extending downward from bothend portions of the top plate portion 70 in the hanging groove railwidth direction, and bottom plate portions 72 extending inward in thehanging groove rail width direction from the lower end portions of therespective side plate portions 71.

In addition, the hanging groove rail 53 has an opening 73 extending inthe hanging groove rail longitudinal direction. The opening 73 is formedbetween both the bottom plate portions 72, and the dimension in thehanging groove rail width direction is smaller than the outer diameter(dimension in the hanging groove rail width direction) of the bolt head58. Further, the shaft portion 57 of the connecting hanger bolt 52passes through the opening 73. Since the hanging groove rail 53 and theconnecting hanger bolt 52 are configured as described above, theconnecting hanger bolt 52 can move in the hanging groove raillongitudinal direction within the hanging groove rail 53.

The connecting hanger bolt 52 is supported from above by the hanginggroove rail 53, and the shaft portion 57 projects downward. Asillustrated in FIG. 1, the plurality of cleats 51 sandwiching thehigh-voltage power lines 61 are sandwiched between a cleat fixing member62 and a lower cleat fixing member 63, and are fixed to one another by along bolt 64 and a nut 65. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9, thecleat fixing member 62 is fixed to the connecting hanger bolt 52 byfastening a hanger nut 66 to the shaft portion 57 of the connectinghanger bolt 52. The order of assembly is not limited. However, forexample, after fixing the cleats 51 sandwiching the high-voltage powerlines 61 to the cleat fixing member 62, the cleat fixing member 62 isfixed to the connecting hanger bolt 52 by using the hanger nut 66. Thus,the cleats 51 sandwiching the high-voltage power lines 61 can beinstalled to the hanging groove rail 53. Note that what is installed tothe hanging groove rail 53 by using the connecting hanger bolt 52 is notlimited to the cleats 51 sandwiching the high-voltage power lines 61,and may be, for example, an underfloor device box or another device.

In addition, the hanging groove rail 53 has bolt takeout portions 74 atboth end portions in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction. Thebolt takeout portion 74 is flush with the opening 73 and is positionedbetween both the side plate portions 71. The bolt takeout portion 74 isopened wider than the outer diameter (dimension in the hanging grooverail width direction) of the bolt head 58. Further, the connectingmember 56 of the connecting hanger bolt 52 is formed to have a smallerdimension in the hanging groove rail width direction than that of theopening 73. Therefore, if the connecting member 56 is deformed, the bolthead 58 can be moved in the upward and downward direction in the bolttakeout portion 74.

However, in the hanging groove rail 53, an installation nut 75 isinstalled to a section corresponding to the bolt takeout portion 74.This installation nut 75 is a nut to be coupled to an installation bolt76 (see also FIG. 1) so as to install the hanging groove rail 53 to thebox 10. However, the installation nut 75 functions as a restrictingportion which restricts movement of the connecting hanger bolt 52 to thebolt takeout portion 74. That is, as long as this installation nut 75 isinstalled, the connecting hanger bolt 52 cannot move to the bolt takeoutportion 74. Note that the restricting portion is not limited to theinstallation nut 75 and may be configured, for example, by projecting aportion of the side plate portion 71 inward in the hanging groove railwidth direction.

The backing plate 54 is a plate member fixed to the upper surface of thehanging groove rail 53. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the backing plate 54is a member for sandwiching the seal member 30 provided on the outerperipheral section of the upper surface of the lid main body 22 betweenthe backing plate 54 and the lid 20 so as to maintain a watertightfunction. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the seal member 30 isbonded to the backing plate 54 so as to be pressed against the sideplate portion 71 of the hanging groove rail 53. As illustrated in FIG.4, the seal member 30 fills a gap between the horizontal portion 14 andthe backing plate 54 and a gap between the side plate portion 71 of thehanging groove rail 53 and the folded portion 23 of the lid 20, andprevents intrusion of water from the lower surface of the underfloorduct 100.

A rivet hole 77 is formed in the backing plate 54. The backing plate 54is fixed to the hanging groove rail 53 by a rivet, not illustrated,passing through the rivet hole 77 and a rivet hole, not illustrated,provided in the hanging groove rail 53. In addition, since the bolt head58 of the connecting hanger bolt 52 has a U-shape, the bolt head 58 doesnot contact the above-described rivet when the connecting hanger bolt 52moves.

Note that in the present embodiment, a case where the connecting hangerbolt installation mechanism 50 is provided at the underfloor duct 100has been described. However, the connecting hanger bolt installationmechanism 50 may be provided at another section. For example, theconnecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50 may be provided insidethe car of the railcar 101 and the connecting hanger bolt installationmechanism 50 may be used to install an interior decoration product.

<Effects and the Like Regarding Connecting Hanger Bolt InstallationMechanism>

The connecting hanger bolt 52 according to the present embodiment is ahanger bolt which is inserted into the hanging groove rail 53 having theopening 73 narrower than the outer diameter of the bolt head 58 andextending in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction and fromwhich a device is hangable. The connecting hanger bolt 52 includes: theplurality of bolts 55 which move in the hanging groove rail longitudinaldirection in the hanging groove rail 53 and whose shaft portions 57 passthrough the opening 73; and the connecting member 56 which connects theplurality of bolts 55 to each other, and keeps the interval in thehanging groove rail longitudinal direction between the plurality ofbolts 55 adjacent to each other.

As described above, in the connecting hanger bolt 52 according to thepresent embodiment, the interval in the hanging groove rail longitudinaldirection between the respective bolts 55 is kept by the connectingmember 56. Therefore, when one bolt 55 is positioned, the other bolt 55is positioned. In a case where a high-voltage power line 61 is installedto a carbody in a conventional structure, a worker has to adjust thepositions of a hanger bolt and a corresponding bolt hole for each hangerbolt while lifting the high-voltage power line 61 which is a heavyobject. Therefore, work efficiency is low. In contrast, in a case wherethe connecting hanger bolt 52 according to the present embodiment isused, when the position of one bolt 55 is determined, the position ofthe bolt 55 adjacent in the car width direction is determined.Therefore, the number of times that position adjustment is performed isreduced, and the burden of work is reduced. In addition, since the bolts55 are connected to each other, the bolt 55 hardly corotates with thenut upon coupling for installing the nut to the bolt 55.

In addition, the connecting hanger bolt 52 according to the presentembodiment is a hanger bolt which is inserted into the hanging grooverail 53 provided with the bolt takeout portions 74 opened wider than theouter diameter of the bolt head 58 at the end portions in the hanginggroove rail longitudinal direction, the end portions being flush withthe opening 73. The connecting hanger bolt 52 allows the bolt head 58 tomove in the upward and downward direction at the bolt takeout portion 74due to deformation of the connecting member 56.

Therefore, in the connecting hanger bolt 52 according to the presentembodiment, the bolt head 58 can be taken out downward from the bolttakeout portion 74 and the connecting hanger bolt 52 can be removed fromthe hanging groove rail 53. In addition, conversely, the connectinghanger bolt 52 can be assembled to the hanging groove rail 53 from thebolt takeout portion 74.

In addition, in the connecting hanger bolt 52 according to the presentembodiment, the connecting member 56 is formed to have a smaller widthdimension than that of the opening 73.

Therefore, when the connecting hanger bolt 52 is removed from thehanging groove rail 53, the connecting member 56 is not caught by thebottom plate portions 72 positioned on both sides of the opening 73 inthe hanging groove rail width direction. Therefore, the connectinghanger bolt 52 can be more easily removed from the hanging groove rail53. Further, when the connecting hanger bolt 52 is removed, theconnecting hanger bolt 52 does not deform greatly. Therefore, theconnecting hanger bolt 52 can be reused.

In addition, the connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50according to the present embodiment includes: the hanging groove rail 53having the restricting portion (installation nut 75) which is formed ona groove inner surface of the bolt takeout portion 74 and restrictsmovement of the connecting hanger bolt 52 to the bolt takeout portion74; and the connecting hanger bolt 52 to be inserted into the hanginggroove rail 53.

Therefore, in the connecting hanger bolt installation mechanism 50according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent theconnecting hanger bolt 52 from falling off the hanging groove rail 53.

What is claimed is:
 1. A connecting hanger bolt being a hanger boltwhich is inserted into a hanging groove rail having an opening narrowerthan an outer diameter of a bolt head and extending in a hanging grooverail longitudinal direction and from which a device is hangable, theconnecting hanger bolt comprising: a plurality of bolts which move inthe hanging groove rail longitudinal direction in the hanging grooverail and whose shaft portions pass through the opening; and a connectingmember which connects the plurality of bolts to each other, and keeps adistance in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction between theplurality of bolts adjacent to each other, wherein: the shaft portionsinclude male threads; bolt heads of the plurality of bolts areconfigured to move in the hanging groove rail; and the entire connectingmember is fully located inside the hanging groove rail such that noportion of the connecting member can extend outside thereof, and theconnecting member connects the bolt heads to each other.
 2. Theconnecting hanger bolt according to claim 1 being a hanger bolt which isinserted into the hanging groove rail provided with a bolt takeoutportion opened wider than an outer diameter of the bolt head at an endportion in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction, the endportion being flush with the opening, wherein the bolt head is allowedto move in an upward and downward direction at the bolt takeout portiondue to deformation of the connecting member.
 3. The connecting hangerbolt according to claim 2, wherein the connecting member is formed tohave a smaller width dimension than a width dimension of the opening. 4.The connecting hanger bolt according to claim 1, wherein tip ends of thebolts which ends are located opposite to the bolt heads are open suchthat nuts are attachable to the tip ends of the bolts.
 5. A connectinghanger bolt installation mechanism comprising: a hanging groove railwhich has a bolt takeout portion and a restricting portion that isformed on a groove inner surface of the bolt takeout portion and thatrestricts movement of the connecting hanger bolt according to claim 4 tothe bolt takeout portion; and the connecting hanger bolt which isinserted into the hanging groove rail.
 6. A connecting hanger bolt beinga hanger bolt which is inserted into a hanging groove rail having anopening narrower than an outer diameter of a bolt head and extending ina hanging groove rail longitudinal direction and from which a device ishangable, the connecting hanger bolt comprising: a plurality of boltswhich move in the hanging groove rail longitudinal direction in thehanging groove rail and whose shaft portions pass through the opening;and a connecting member which connects the plurality of bolts to eachother, and keeps a distance in the hanging groove rail longitudinaldirection between the plurality of bolts adjacent to each other,wherein: bolt heads of the plurality of bolts are allowed to move in anupward and downward direction by deformation of the connecting member inbolt takeout portions of the hanging groove rail, the bolt takeoutportions being flush with the opening; each of outer diameters of thebolt heads is smaller than each of widths of the bolt takeout portions;the entire connecting member is fully located inside the hanging grooverail such that no portion of the connecting member can extend outsidethereof; and the connecting member is formed to have a smaller widthdimension than a width dimension of the opening.
 7. A connecting hangerbolt installation mechanism comprising: a hanging groove rail which hasa bolt takeout portion and a restricting portion that is formed on agroove inner surface of the bolt takeout portion and that restrictsmovement of the connecting hanger bolt according to claim 6 to the bolttakeout portion; and the connecting hanger bolt which is inserted intothe hanging groove rail.